A place for me to discuss recent book acquisitions, my academic and other writing, my reading of fiction and poetry, and my enjoyment of popular culture. About the name: John Dee (1527-1609) kept a considerable library at his home in Mortlake, Surrey on the outskirts of London.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Looking to the Future

Newsarama now has an article posted in which they speak with Dan Didio and Allan Heinberg, who will be writing the re-launched Wonder Woman title in the spring. As has been previously leaked, Terry Dodson will be pencilling the title. (Ragnell has posted on this, too.)

Here are some quotes. First, the good:

Replied Heinberg, “As one of DC's ‘Big 3’, I think it's tempting to think about Wonder Woman in relation to Superman and Batman, but in my experience it's not a terribly useful means of coming to terms with her essential character. Her archetypal role in the DC Universe - and her essential purpose - has never been as clearly defined.

“She's arguably as strong as Superman and as cunning as Batman, but she's not the archetypal Boy Scout or Dark Knight. She's been a princess, a goddess, a politician, an author, and a superhero. She's a pacifist, yet she's arguably the DCU's fiercest warrior. She has one of the most complex histories and supporting casts in comics history. But with Wonder Woman #1 we have an opportunity to peel back the layers a bit and simply ask, ‘Who is this woman? What does she want? And what's she going to do about it?’”

Heinberg cites his predecessor Greg Rucka’s work on the series as a heavy influence, and said that he and Dodson will “attempt to continue to tell Wonder Woman's story in a way that honors his extraordinary, deeply felt work on the book.”

And then, something that made me wince:

And Dodson’s particular talents in terms of drawing female characters will not go wasted either…

“The Golden Age Wonder Woman's story was originally set in motion by her attraction to Steve Trevor,” explained Heinberg. “Her uniform and her sexuality were revolutionary in the 1940's and a huge source of her subversive power at the time. So, inspired by that version of the Wonder Woman, Terry and I are hoping to bring some of her subversive sexiness to the modern age character and to the book, as well.”

I'm no prude; I like subversive sexiness as much as the next person. And I am indeed fully aware of the extent to which the character's creator, William Moulton Marston, eroticised Wonder Woman and the world in which she operated. To be fair, I'll wait until I see the book before I rant about anything connected to it. But I will say this: I think it would be ironic if the Wonder Woman of 2006 become a cheesecake comic geared to a readership of high school boys, cynically crafted to be read by them, as the French say, with one hand.